Various medical conditions require partial or complete occlusion of blood vessels or vascular malformations. Embolic coils have proven popular for such applications owing to their ability to be placed at such sites using a variety of percutaneous delivery techniques.
Accurate delivery of the embolic coil to the appropriate site within a body lumen is critical to proper function and favorable patient prognosis. A variety of negative medical outcomes may result from the incomplete or partial occlusion of a vascular malformation, as well as unintended occlusion of nearby vasculature. While conventional systems allow embolic coils to be delivered to a variety of locations within a patient, it remains possible for embolic coils to be delivered improperly (i.e., to the wrong location) or to migrate from the desired placement site following delivery. Unfortunately, once released from the delivery device, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to recapture the embolic coil such that it can be repositioned within (or removed from) the patient.
Accordingly, there is a need for low profile delivery systems capable of deploying an embolic coil in a safe and accurate manner, and recapturing the embolic coil post-delivery for removal or relocation.